Lord Emeraldcoat
Lord Emeraldcoat is a noble Unicorn hailing from Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. Once a mage of great skill, Simon Emeraldcoat committed a horrible crime, and had his horn taken from him in punishment. Since then, he has turned his powerful mind to the study of science, and struggles to make up for the mistakes he has made. History Early Life Simon is the only son born to the Eric and Silvia Emeraldcoat, the Lord and Lady of Castle Emerald. The family Emeraldcoat was one of the Old Families of Canterlot, Simon had every advantage a young noble pony could ask for. Private tutors, access to the Royal Library(and the personal collections of his parents, both accomplished magi in their own right), and a full scholarship to a prestigious magical academy, the same one his father attended, and his father before him. Sadly, Simon proved to be a less than ideal heir to the title of Lord. Though he possessed an incredibly inquisitve mind, Simon was far less interested in other ponies than he was in knowledge, and never truly mastered the skills of interpony relationships a true noble needed. Instead, Simon spent most of his time in laboratories and libraries, furthering his knowledge of everything, but magic above all. Upon the death of both his parents, Simon inherited the title of Lord Emeraldcoat, as well as the Castle Emerald itself. Moving into the dark green tower, the new Lord Emeraldcoat sequestered himself within the castle, with only a few servants remaining to provide for his general survival. Onyx Mane One of the few times Lord Emeraldcoat would emerge from his tower was when his former school asked him to speak in seminars. Emeraldcoat detested doing so, as most of the students were so far below his level of knowledge that he had to speak in terms "which a foal could understand." Still, he had a sense of duty to his former institution, so he did what was asked of him. Things continued in this way until a student approached him after a seminar. Instead of showering him with compliments about his brilliance as Lord Emeraldcoat was accustomed to, the mare pointed out several flaws in his presentation. When he responded that simplification was necessary for the concepts to be communicated to students of her level, she pressed on, demanding the full explination. To Emeraldcoat's surprise, the mare, whose name was Onyx Mane, not only understood, she began to jump forward along the line of thinking, arriving to the conclusion without his prompting. The two began regular correspondance, and when Onyx graduated from the college, Simon invited her to work with him as his lab assistant. The two worked well together, Emeraldcoat's careful analysis tempering Onyx's passion, and Onyx's constant eagerness for new knowledge challenging Emeraldcoat's assumptions. Indeed, the two eventually began a small romance, the two ponies being uniquly suited to handle the other. Onyx even managed to get Simon to start being social. Sadly, this happy time did not last long. While working on an experiment with highly reactive spell agents, Onyx knocked over a vial of dragonbile. The resulting explosion destroyed the lab, and killed her. Emeraldcoat was away, securing more materials for the experiment. Her death devastated him, and for a long time, no one saw Lord Emeraldcoat. Black Magic When Simon did emerge, it was in desperation. He had explored every method of brining Onyx back he could think of, but nothing worked. He went to Princess Celestia, at the time the sole reigning princess of Equestria, to beg her to bring his love back. Despite her best efforts, even the goddess of the sun could not return Onyx to the mortal coil. The mare's soul either could not return, or did not wish to. Simon did not accept this. He delved even further into his research, barring any from entering Castle Emerald. His experiments became darker and darker. Desperate, he threw himself into his research, trying to find something, anything that would bring Onyx back to him. Attempting increasingly complex formulae and calculations, Emeraldcoat went through failure after failure. Eventually, everypony just let him be. A mad unicorn in his ivory tower. No one, not even Princess Celestia, thought he might succeed. No one knows quite how he did it, except maybe Emeraldcoat himself-and if he does know, he isn't telling. But one thing is known for sure. Emeraldcoat only made it partway. Onyx didn't want to be brought back, and so Emeraldcoat could only give life to her hooves once more. Onyx's mind, what Emeraldcoat truly wanted to have again, was forever beyond his reach. In its place, something else entered Onyx's freshly reanimated body. Once again, no one is entirely positive what now controls Onyx's body, but whatever it was, it was powerful, and it was destructive. The damage to Emeraldcoat's home was immense, and the dark pony he created rampaged for a time through Canterlot, before riding away towards the Zebra Plains. Emeraldcoat was swiftly captured by the royal guard, and brought before Princess Celestia for judgement. For pursuing magic beyond the bounds of pony law, and unleashing something from beyond the sphere of Equestria, Emeraldcoat's horn was broken, his magic stripped from him, until such a time as he could learn humility. He was sent back to his broken home, to think on the devastation his arrogance had wrought. New Studies But Emeraldcoat did not learn. In his anger, he refused the offers of other ponies to heal his broken horn. Instead of returning to magic, Emeraldcoat continued his quest, through another medium. Celestia may have taken his magic, but she could never take his mind. So, Emeraldcoat began to experiment with scientific methods, applying his intellect to understanding the laws of the universe. His study into this new power is yet young, and though he has made much progress(even learning enough to rebuild his home even stronger than before), he is far, far away from being able to bring back his beloved Onyx Mane. Even now, Emeraldcoat carries his broken horn in a vial around his neck, to remind him of his purpose, though he has begun experimenting with attatching various mechanical contraptions to the broken stump in order to control their operation with his mind. In the time since his fall, Lord Emeraldcoat has regained a vast amount of respect, especially amongst ponies of an academic inclination. Celestia has chosen him to join the team sent to Bridle, perhaps because of his unique perspective, and perhaps because she sees an opportunity for his redemption. Emeraldcoat has set up a place of experimentation and study in the town of Bridle, and lends what aid he can, while still maintaining his experiments. With the rumors of invasion, he has begun taking a look at the town's fortifications, seeing if any ideas arrive to improve them. Personality Emeraldcoat is reserved and proper, and not prone to exaggerated shows of emotion. He has earned a reputation of being aloof and unresponsive to overtures of friendship-a reputation rightfully earned. But Emeraldcoat greatly respects intellectual ability, and if somepony can prove themselves an able thinker, they will find that Emeraldcoat can be a valuable and insightful companion-if still ultimately one who is distant. However, make no mistake. Emeraldcoat has no use for old traditions and outdated restrictions. He respects the law only because it is upheld by one who has shown him mercy in the past, and if Princess Celestia were not in power, it is unlikely Emeraldcoat would give two figs about the laws of Equestria. Emeraldcoat's only laws are those he discovers by observation. The laws by which reality operates are his code, and he is dedicated to understanding exactly what that means. Cutie Mark-The Gear of Innovation Lord Emeraldcoat's Cutie Mark is a many-toothed gear, bronze in color. The way the Mark is patterned on his skin, it appears sometimes to be slowly turning. The Gear provides a +8 bonus(due to Emeraldcoat's Cutie Mark Focus Feat) to Knowledge Checks to learn something new, and to Checks to create new ideas. Stat Block Lord Emeraldcoat ''' '''Male LN Unicorn(Broken) Engineer, Level 5,' Init' +2, HP 24/24 , Speed 20 ft. AC 17, Touch 12, Flat-footed 15, Fort +3, Ref +3, Will '''+5, '''Base Attack Bonus 3 +1 Heavy Repeating Dynamo Cannon +6 (1d10+2, 19-20/X2) Masterwork Barding Breastplate '''(+5 Armor, +2 Dex) '''Abilities Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 13, Cha 7 Condition None Category:Bridle Category:PCs